Nemesis Secrets
by Bookworm0913
Summary: Part 2 of the Secrets Saga. When Usagi Moon and the Elemental Warriors encounter three strange children, a new enemy is sure to follow. And who is this mysterious scout hiding in the shadows?
1. Chapter 1 Parting Ways

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination.

Chapter One: Parting Ways

Darien lifted the last box out of the trunk of Trista's car. Carrying it into the Lambert house, he almost ran into Noland.

"That the last of it?" Noland asked.

The ebon-haired man nodded. "Yeah. You ready to go?"

"Europe, here we come!" Noland called, as Darien passed him to walk up the stairs.

The door to the master bedroom was open, revealing Trista putting a few touches on the room. The next two doors were closed, though he could hear music being blasted behind one of them, marked with a large 'C'. He walked down to the fourth room on the second floor. The former guest room would now be Serena's room.

His girlfriend was already up there, unpacking the boxes they'd brought up. She'd put her hair back into her two buns and pigtails, once she'd gotten inside. Already, her hair had regained the length she'd cut off for the Snowflake Ball.

"Just set in on the bed," she stated, hanging up her school uniforms in the closet.

The room was dominated by dark wood tones on the furniture, and dark blue walls, with a nighttime sky painted across the ceiling. He knew, without being told, this room had once been decorated for him, back when the Lamberts had hoped they might still be able to take him in.

Once he set the box down, Serena turned to him. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you," he promised, pulling her into his arms. "Phone calls just aren't going to be the same."

"No," she choked out, fighting to hold back her tears. "But that doesn't give you an excuse not to call. I don't care about the time difference."

"With any luck, we'll find Zoicite quickly. And Jadeite, too."

She nodded, tightening her grip on his shirt. "And you really think Zoicite's in Europe?"

"Well, Kunzite's memories came back while he was in the Middle East, which was once the Western Kingdom. And Nephlite was here, in America, and this was once part of the Eastern Kingdom. Europe, as the majority of the Northern Kingdom, seems the most likely place to start. If not, we'll look in Western Russia, next. Or, maybe, if he's already awakened, he'll be drawn back here. Jadeite's probably going to be the hard one to find. The Southern Kingdom has been so dramatically altered."

Serena drew back, pulling out the Star Locket. "Take it with you. Please."

He reverently took it and slid it into his subspace pocket.

"Since we can't go to the airport with you, I'll say goodbye here." Serena placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Come safely back to me."

He drew her back in, pressing his nose into her hair. He breathed in the scent of strawberries and roses, and the unique, clean scent that was Serena.

"I will," he vowed, reluctantly releasing her. "I'll call you, as soon as we land in France. Yes, you'll probably be in class, but, at least you'll know we arrived safely."

"I'll be waiting." She drew back again, furiously wiping at her tears. "You'd better go say goodbye to Miyako. I'm sure she's waiting."

Darien reached into his pocket and pulled out his henshin rose. "I know it's still touched by darkness, much like our lives are, right now. But I'd feel better if it were somewhere I can't be tempted to use it. I've come too close, being here."

She held out her hands, clutching the flower gently. "As soon as I can, I'll purify it. I promise. Until then…" She turned and opened a silver jewelry box. Lifting out it's false bottom, she placed the rose inside. "There. That should work for now."

He pulled her back in for another kiss, lingering this time. "That'll have to hold me, until we can be together, again."

Reluctantly, they parted and Darien made his way back downstairs. The other two doors were open, now, revealing Cleo's cluttered room and the neat precision on Kyle's. The two Lambert siblings were nowhere to be seen, however.

On the first floor, he knocked on the open door to Miyako's room, leaning against the door frame.

"Darien!" Miyako leapt off her bed, throwing her arms around him. "Do you really have to go? We haven't gotten to really know each other, yet."

"I'll be back soon, I promise. We need to find the other Shitennou."

"Just like before, huh? Except Father isn't pushing you to go." She gave a slight laugh.

He nodded, holding her close. "I'll call. I promise. I'll keep you up to date. I'll even send you a few postcards, alright?"

"Sure," she said, pulling back. "I have something for you, by the way."

She slipped away from him, going to her closet. She carefully lifted down an old shoebox, placing in on her bed.

"After we defeated Ichirou, the other Elemental Warriors and I worked on these, with some help from Serena. We noticed the glamors Kyle and the others have aren't very strong. I doubt they'd last under close scrutiny. And you don't have a henshin form to use anymore." She shrugged. "So, we discussed it and came up with these, plucked from the Garden and enhanced with our magic."

She pulled the lid off the box, revealing seven rosebuds nestled inside.

"They should work a lot like your henshin rose, though it won't be the same outfit," added Miyako. "We had to create a different one. You can blame Cleo. She's the one who picked it."

Darien nodded, reaching out and examining the roses. Each one was a different color, black, white, red, orange, green, blue, and cream, each a perfect rosebud, just like the one he'd handed to Serena.

"The cream one is yours. The black is Owens, white for Harper, orange to Kyle, green belongs to Noland, red for Jadeite, and blue for Zoicite." She explained, not looking up at him.

Darien picked up the cream rose, flicking it the way he had his dark pink one. Power shimmered around him as the rose bloomed. Looking down, he saw baggy pants, a loose, long-sleeved tunic, belted with a wide strip of fabric, all of which were the same cream as his rose, and heavy, light brown leather boots. He glanced over to Miyako's mirror. His face was almost invisible, under the loose head covering and the cloth mask covering the lower half of his face. A long cape wrapped around his shoulders, pinned with a round pin, a gold crescent moon on a field of dark blue.

"Isn't this the outfit we used to catch Kunzite wearing on occasion?" Noland asked, walking into the room. "By the way, he's waiting out be the car for the rest of us."

Darien nodded, letting the henshin fade. "Thank you, Miyako. Tell the others thank you, as well. Though Kyle may kill Cleo for picking that outfit."

"It was that or Jadeite's assassin cloak," she laughed.

"This is definitely preferable," he agreed. "Talk to you soon, little sis."

She nodded, pushing the box into his hands. "Make sure everybody gets theirs, alright?"

He grinned. "Behave, Miyako."

She joined Cleo and Usagi on the still snow-covered porch, waving until Kyle's car was out of sight.

"Come on. We'd better get some sleep. It's back to school in the morning," sighed Cleo. "Second semester, here we come."

"Hey, that means we're getting closer to prom!" Miyako cheered.

"I thought prom was only for juniors and seniors." Usagi frowned.

"At Terrarose High, it is. Firerose Prep is small enough, prom is open to everyone. Well, as long as you attend Firerose Prep, or your date does," explained the ebon-haired girl.

-8-

Over Terrarose hovered a ship, invisible to all eyes, save those who inhabited it. In a circular chamber near the bottom, looking out over the town, stood a young man, with fiery red hair. Behind him, sitting before four dressing tables, sat four young women, hidden in shadows.

"Are you sure they're coming here, Rubeus?"

The man, called Rubeus, didn't even turn. "Wiseman says this is where they're coming. So, this is where we wait. Soon, we'll have them, the little Rabbit, the little Hedgehog, and the little Flower."

The four women shared a dark smile.

"It's only a matter of time," he concluded.

-8-

"So, have you decided on your winter extracurricular, yet?"

Miyako and Usagi strolled towards the public library.

"Not yet," replied the blonde. "Have you?"

"No. There's not really anything that really stands out, you know? I've thought about the upcoming play but… I just don't know."

"Cleo's already picked hers."

"Cleo has played softball since we were kids. Of course she's already picked her extracurricular._ And_ she'll be volunteering at the kids' softball clinic this summer, just like she has the last two."

"Do you play softball?"

"Nope. Never been my sport."

They'd almost made it to the library, when something heavy dropped on Usagi. Two more flumps were heard in the nearby snowbank.

"What in the world?" Usagi yelped.

The weight was quickly gone. She scrambled to her feed, to find Miyako staring at a strange young girl in her arms, her pink hair pulled up in an all too familiar hairstyle.

-8-

Okay, so I know the chapter's a little on the short side. I have a feeling the first few are going to be that way. But, then again, my chapters do tend to be fairly short, don't they? Anyway, I'm hoping to be able to keep to weekly updates with this one. No guarantees, but that's the plan.

Anyway, I need a couple of ideas from all of you, if you're willing. I need something for the winter/spring season for an extracurricular for Miyako and Usagi. I have one in mind, but I'm not sure how well I really like it. Also, as I said at the end of Elemental Secrets, I'm working on a new Sailor Moon story, unconnected to this one, where she meets the Outers before the Inners. While I'd like to thank my reviewer, none, for the idea, I'm really thinking about using someone else for the villain. However, I will keep them in mind for a future story in this arc. I'm leaning towards Alan and Ann for the villains in that one. Partially because I've never written them, but also because they are from outside our galaxy, which fits with the Outers. It's either them or a new sub-general from Beryl. Just curious which you'd prefer to see.


	2. Chapter 2 Time Travelers

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination.

Chapter Two: Time Travelers

"Who are you?" Usagi demanded, staring at the pink-haired girl. "And where did you come from?"

The child couldn't have been older than five, but there was such anger in her eyes. She obviously wasn't dressed for the winter weather, in a thin, long-sleeved white t-shirt, a short pink skirt, and white sneakers with red and pink laces.

"Put me down!" The little girl demanded. "Put me down this minute!"

"Let Rini go!"

Usagi and Miyako turned to see two more little girls emerging from the snow bank. They both had to be the same age as the girl they called Rini. The girl on the left had brown eyes and hair that was very obviously magenta, pulled back into matching thin braids that fell past her waist. The knees of her jeans were ripped, and scrapes could be seen on her knees. Her purple sneakers were scuffed. Dirt covered her short-sleeved purple t-shirt and the hands that fisted on her hips.

The other girl at least had a jacket, a denim one, which was better than the other two. But she wore a light blue sundress underneath it, which ended just above her knees. Her white sneakers had silver and blue laces threaded through them. But, while her hair was a normal ebon black, rather than the unusual colors of her companions, it was styled into two star-shaped odangos on either side of her head. Usagi frowned at the sadness that was visible in the pale lavender eyes, eyes that were a far too familiar lavender.

"Why don't we all go someplace a little warmer, and we can talk?" Miyako suggested. "I'm sure you girls would all like a cup of hot chocolate."

She slowly lowered Rini to the ground. Rini looked over at the other two. Most of the attention was fixed on the girl with the magenta hair, who fiddled nervously with the ends of her two braids.

"Alright," decided the magenta haired girl. "We'll go with you."

The little ones turned and collected the three book bags that had fallen along with them. Unsurprisingly, Rini's was pink, the magenta-haired girl's was purple, and the ebon-haired girl's was light blue.

Usagi and Miyako guided all three girls into Melanthios Books and Café. While Usagi followed the girls to a table, Miyako walked up to the counter. She quickly explained the situation to Andrew and put in their order.

"So, where are your parents?" Usagi asked.

The girls looked at each other, nervously.

"They're not here," stated the girl with the star odangos, eventually. "They sent us away."

"Sent you away?" Miyako slid into the seat next to Usagi.

The magenta haired girl nodded. "They said it wasn't safe."

This time, it was Usagi and Miyako's turn to look at each other. Something about this didn't seem right. But, they didn't press the issue. If the girls could trust them, eventually, they might get to the truth.

"Do the three of you have a place to stay? Someone waiting for you?" Miyako asked, having already guessed the answer.

"No," said Rini, slowly.

The girl with the star odangos added. "There wasn't time to tell us where to go."

Usagi turned to Miyako, lowering her voice. "You want them to stay with us?"

"Who else? Besides, I have a feeling we should be keeping an eye on them." She shrugged. "Do you know what I mean?"

Oddly enough, the blond did. "First things first, we need to get them some proper winter clothing."

Just then, Andrew walked over with a tray, holding five steaming mugs.

"Here we go. Be careful with that hot chocolate. It's still pretty hot," he cautioned, setting the three smaller mugs before each of the little girls. "And one peppermint mocha latte for Miyako and a white chocolate caramel hot chocolate for Usagi. Now, I haven't seen you girls in here before. I'm Andrew. And you three are?" He gave them one of his easy-going, friendliest smiles.

Rini looked up at him, returning the look. "I'm Rini, and this is my sister, Aki," she pointed to the raven-haired girl, "and that's our cousin, Takara," she announced, pointing to the magenta-haired girl who sat in the middle.

"Rini, Aki, and Takara, those are all very pretty names," observed Andrew.

"Well, why don't we go do a little shopping?" Usagi asked, once you've finished your hot chocolate? Since you'll be staying here awhile."

Aki grimaced. "I don't know…"

"You'll stay with us," declared Usagi. "We have room for you all. Besides, we can't just leave you to wander around. I'm sure Trista and Cleo would agree."

Miyako nodded. "Absolutely."

Besides, Usagi wanted to get them over there so she could ask Trista about them.

So it was, a few hours later, that Miyako and Usagi ushered the three girls into the house. They found Cleo, sprawled out on the sofa, flipping through the short list of basic cable channels.

"And where have you been?" She demanded, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Out and about," replied Miyako, hanging up the brand new coats in the hall closet, along with her own.

Suddenly, Rini dove behind Usagi. The blonde turned to see Trista standing in the doorway. The Time Guardian was staring at Aki and Takara, an unhappy look on her face.

"Come out here, Small Lady. I know you're here, too."

Slowly, Rini stepped out. "Hello, Puu."

Usagi frowned. No one called Trista 'Puu' except for her.

"Puu? Trista, what's going on?" Cleo demanded, finally turning away from the TV and spotting the three girls.

"These girls are from the 30th Century. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more than that," replied Trista, garnet eyes narrowing. "At least not at the moment. They shouldn't even be here."

"Please, Puu, don't send us back," pleaded Aki.

Takara nodded fiercely. "It's too scary to go home!"

Miyako caught Usagi's eye and nodded. One more bit of information.

Trista's gaze slid from one girl to the next. She let out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, it is too dangerous for me to send them home just at present. Though, I'll have to go speak to your parents."

Three heads dropped and three pairs of eyes stared at the floor.

"Then they'll just have to stay here, with us," decided Usagi. "Until it's safe for them to go home."

"The three of you must promise to be on you're very best behavior," cautioned the Time Guardian. "You listen to Miyako, Cleo and Usagi. No running around. No causing trouble."

All three of them bobbled wobbly curtseys. "Yes, Puu."

"Kyle won't appreciate us putting them in his room," mused Cleo.

"Takara can share my room," offered Miyako.

Usagi nodded. "And Rini and Aki can share with me."

"Rini's a blanked hog," warned Aki, earning a glare from her sister.

-8-

It took a while to get the girls settled. Room was made in the closets for their clothes. And the small book bags had to be unpacked, too. Rini's hadn't contained much, since most of the space was taken up by a large toy cat head she called Luna-P. The rest of the bag had contained candy bars and fruit snacks, probably Rini's idea of nutritious food. Aki's, however, had a couple of thin chapter books, ones Usagi recognized from the new children's display at Melanthios, and a handful of clothing, all more summery than she'd be able to wear at the moment. She, too, had a toy cat head, though it was smaller than Rini's Luna-P, and, instead of reminding Usagi of Luna, it was more like Artemis, white with blue eyes, probably part of the reason she found it funny he was called Arty-Q.

Takara had probably been the most prepared, according to Miyako, with her bag full of clothes, including a few that would work for winter, and bags of dried fruit mixed with various nuts. But she didn't have a single toy in sight.

At last, Usagi curled up in the middle of her enormous bed, long blonde hair in a braid. Rini curled up with Luna-P, already fast asleep, on her right. Aki sprawled out on her left, Arty-Q tucked under her out-flung arm. And, sure enough, Rini had pulled one of the blankets over, so it was only hers. Pulling up the second blanket, Usagi covered Aki and herself, smiling at both of them, before letting herself drift off to sleep.

-8-

Miyako looked over at the small form huddled in the blanket next to her. The girl had been fine, until Miyako had crawled in next to her. Then, still asleep, Takara had rolled over and latched onto Miyako's arm, like it was her favorite teddy bear. While it was uncomfortable, she couldn't bring herself to risk waking the girl by moving her arm.

_Tomorrow night, I'll find something else for her to cling to,_ she thought, closing her eyes.

-8-

The ringing of the phone was what woke Miyako the next morning. Only half-awake, she reached out and grabbed the cordless phone next to her bed.

"Hello?"

"_Sorry, Miyako. Did I wake you?"_

The voice on the phone had Miyako wide awake.

"Darien! Yeah, you did, actually. Give me a couple of seconds, here."

She managed to extricate her arm from Takara's sleep-loosened grip. Pulling on her fluffy bathrobe, she moved out into the living room as Usagi drifted down the stairs.

"So, what's up?" She asked, before pointing to the main phone and mouthing 'Darien' to the sleepy blonde.

"_Not much,"_ replied Darien. _"Still no sign of Zoicite, but we'll keep looking."_ He paused as he heard the click of another phone being picked up_. "Morning, Serena."_

"Morning, Darien. Still nothing, huh?"

"_No, nothing. We'll be moving on to Germany, later today."_

"You know, it would help if someone remembered where you met Zoicite," grumbled Usagi. "After all, Kunzite woke in Cairo, and that's where you met him. And Terrarose was built on top of the site where you met Nephrite, wasn't it?"

Dairen laughed, dryly, before he answered. _"Yeah. Problem is, I can't remember where I met Zoicite, and no one else was there with me. All I can remember is meeting him after getting separated from the others, due to a storm. But, that still doesn't help."_ His frustration rang across the phone lines.

"Hey, you'll find him, alright?" Miyako declared. "So, Germany next, huh? Don't forget, I'm expecting a souvenir from each country you have to visit."

"I won't forget." The frustration faded into another laugh.

"Alright, I'll let you and your princess talk for a while, while I get started on breakfast." Miyako walked back to her room and hung up her phone.

Takara sat up on the bed, wiping away tears.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Miyako sank down next to her.

"I want my mommy and my daddy and my puppy," she whimpered.

The ebon-haired girl wrapped her arms around Takara. "You'll see them again, as soon as it's safe for you to go home. I promise. In the meantime, you want to help me make breakfast?"

-8-

Together, the five girls left the Lambert house, later that morning. Cleo had promised to meet up with them, still talking on the phone to Kyle when they left.

"Now, don't let go of our hands," instructed Usagi. "Especially while we're crossing the streets."

They were heading out towards the training barn, where everyone else would be meeting up with them. Well, everyone but Andrew, Lizzie and Isolde, since the three of them were putting in their hours, working at Melanthios Books and Café. But Miyako had promised to stop by later and fill them in.

When they reached the park, however, Usagi nodded to Miyako.

"Alright, you girls can run ahead, but stay where we can see you. We're going to cut through the park," explained Usagi. "Stay close. We don't want anyone getting lost."

The three girls shot forward, laughing and screaming as they ran across the frosty ground.

"Bet I can catch more snowflakes than you!" Aki yelled, as it began snowing, again.

Rini scowled. "Cannot!"

Within seconds, all three girls were chasing after snowflakes and calling out how many they'd caught.

"Twenty!" Aki called out.

"Ha," said Rini. "Twenty two!"

"Aaand, thirty!" Takara yelled, as another one landed on her tongue.

Rini leapt to catch other and fell to the ground. She let out a scream. Usagi was running, even before she saw the crescent moon appearing on the young girl's forehead.

"It's okay. You're alright," soothed the blonde, running her hands up and down Rini's arms. "Everything's going to be fine."

"At last! The little Rabbit!"

Usagi turned, one arm wrapped around Rini. Aki was already dashing around to hide behind her, too. Takara already clung to Miyako's arm.

"And look, the Flower and the Hedgehog, too!" The speaker was a woman, not all that much older than Miyako or Usagi. Part of her dark purple hair was twisted up into pointed buns, similar to the ones Rini wore, though she didn't have the pigtails, her hair falling in waves to her waist, instead.

"Now, why don't all three of you be good girls and come over here, to me?" She continued, stepping farther onto the park path.

Aki shouted, "No! You hurt our Mommy!"

Usagi rose to her feet. "Who are you?"

"Koan, youngest of the Ayakashi sisters, citizen of Nemesis. And I will have what I came here to get!"

She sent a wall of black flames flying towards the blonde and the two girls she protected.

"Royal Star Power!" Usagi screamed, but the flare of light and the henshin didn't come.

"Soul of the Elements!"

She saw the brief flare of rainbow light around Miyako, and then Sailor Element was there.

"Elemental Rose Tempest!"

The flurry of rose petals smothered the flames.

Takara darted over to join Rini and Aki, even as Sailor Element stepped over to stand between them and Koan. The mysterious new young woman sneered and took off, apparently not wanting to fight.

Usagi stared down at her wrist. The bracelet was there. It wasn't like she'd forgotten to grab it before they left the house. So, why hadn't it worked? There was still power in it, she was sure of that. After all, she'd left it out in the starlight all night, every night since they'd fought and defeated Ichirou. If she couldn't become Sailor R, how was she going to protect Rini and Aki?

Sailor Element dropped her henshin, turning back to Usagi. "What happened?"

"I don't know. But not a word to Darien. Or to anyone else. Not until I get some answers. Alright?"

The ebon-haired girl nodded, though she clearly didn't agree. "Not a word. Come on. We'd better get to the barn before they send out a search party."

-8-

And, at long last, chapter two is up! Sorry, my muse took an unauthorized and unplanned vacation. (I told her she could take off in November, but she didn't listen.) So, it may be a while before the next chapter. Besides, I'm only a week and a half away from one of the craziest months of the year. I'm going to try and participate in NaNoWriMo again this year. I managed to make it, last year, so I'm hoping I can again, this year. Unfortunately, that means a lot of my other writing goes onto the back burner until the end of November.

However, until the next chapter, some things to consider. Why didn't Usagi's bracelet work? Are the Elemental Warriors going to get upgrades to their power? Where is Zoicite? I'm sure you can figure out who Aki and Takara are.

By the way, Alex, yes, it is the same outfit as Moonlight Knight, with a few alterations, like the different shoes and his belt is cream instead of brown (which was the original). I had to find some way to bring in that version. And it works!

And for Guest, also known as SerenityMoonRose123, I do have some changes planned for this arc. I'm not planning on any name changes, or anything like that. It's still the Black Moon Clan they're going to have to fight. But, I have some tweaks to make. For instance, if Diamond is still obsessed with Neo-Queen Serenity, would he recognize her as Usagi Moon? (I still haven't decided on that!) And I have someone else who's going to be making her appearance. Though, that won't be next chapter. Or, at least, I don't think it'll be next chapter. It might.

Also, I'm planning on at least one chapter of Tokyo and the Inner Senshi as the beginning of the fourth story, which is when I'm going to have Usagi return to Tokyo. Though, I might consider putting it in, earlier, if I get around to it.

Wow! Probably the longest Author's Note I've ever written! See you when my muse gets back from vacation!


End file.
